


Delight the Lucid Shoal

by dirtgrvb (orphan_account)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: 13 Year Old Steven and 17 Year Old Steven Bonding, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:29:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22107871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/dirtgrvb
Summary: Steven and his teenage counterpart from the future have a conversation in the early morning. Secrets always feel less secure before the sun reaches it's zenith.
Relationships: Steven Universe & Steven Universe
Comments: 14
Kudos: 369





	Delight the Lucid Shoal

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the lovely Time Travel AU on Tumblr, courtesy of @sutimetravelau. 
> 
> "Twoie" refers to Steven Two, the Steven from Steven Universe Future who traveled back in time.
> 
> edit: Steven is post-Ocean Gem and Twoie is pre-Little Graduation!

Steven woke to the sound of pencil scratching away on paper. Of all the sounds to have ever woken him up - Pearl tidying his room, Amethyst chewing some inedible thing with her mouth open, Garnet _walking_ \- this was the strangest. It took his tired brain a solid minute to connect the sound to his recent and unexpected guest, Twoie, the teenage Steven from the future.

He rolled over to look at his Cookie Cat clock. It was only 7:14! Why was Twoie awake so early, especially with how he had still been working when Steven finally fell asleep? That was only a few hours ago. He would happily sleep another two or three hours, but the mystery had caught his attention and he knew he wouldn't be able to go back to bed until he had an answer.

Rolling out of bed and treading lightly down the stairs, he found Twoie in the exact position he'd left him in the night before. Sitting at the kitchen counter, an array of textbooks and notepads spread out around him, several mugs of peppermint tea interrupting the collection of paper.

The final step let out a creak that could be heard throughout the house, and his older counterpart startled out of his fixation. He turned towards Steven with wide eyes framed by dark bags, hair mussed and tangled like he'd been running his hands through it repeatedly.

"Steven?" Twoie rasped, eyebrows furrowed. "What are you doing up so late?"

Steven paused.

"Um, its the morning, actually. I mean its earlier than I usually wake up but, uh... Yeah, its early."

Twoie frowned and turned his gaze to the windows, seemingly surpirsed at the barely rising sun.

"Huh, would you look at that," he murmured under his breath.

"Wait, are you telling me you didn't sleep at all last night?" Steven gasped, worry and lingering exhaustion warring for dominance on his face.

Twoie blanched. "No, no! Nothing like that, I, uh, I had a nap? Yeah, a nap! And I just got up real early and-"

"You're lying." Steven interrupted, disappointed but not really surprised. Adults never told him the truth, and even though Twoie was only seventeen, he seemed so much older. It looked like Steven couldn't even trust himself.

Twoie looked on in distress at the resignation he saw on Steven's face.

"You," he paused and took a deep breath, starting again. "I'm sorry. You're right. I forgot to sleep last night. I shouldn't have lied to you, I wasn't really thinking about it. Can you forgive me?"

Steven beamed. "Of course! Apology accepted, Steven Two!"

"Twoie is fine for now, Steven. You should have your name," he chuckled. "Besides, it kind of sounds like Dewey, right?" He waved his arms above his head as he started to mock the mayor's car. "Mayor Twoie, Mayor Twoie!"

Steven giggled as he made his way into the kitchenette, happy to see Twoie goofing off a bit even if he looked wrecked. What he had said finally caught up to him, however.

"Wait - you forgot to sleep! How does that even happen?" he stressed, turning concerned eyes onto his future self.

Twoie seemed frozen for a moment, eyes wide.

"I think I just got caught up in looking for a way to go home. I didn't mean to spend the night working, you know? I just... I just wanna go home," he concluded, avoiding Steven's eyes as he stared down at the notebook he'd been working on.

Steven rubbed his chin in a way that he hoped made him seem more mature and wise as he contemplated his counterpart.

"I guess I can understand.. You must really miss your Crystal Gems, huh? I bet you guys have a lot more fun traditions, like, Together Breakfast two! The sequel! And I bet you guys play minigolf every day!" Steven gasped. "Oh no! What if you miss minigolf and then the Gems don't play it and you all lose your edge! You're gonna lose the future golf tournament because of me, Twoie, I'm so sorry!"

Twoie watched Steven ramble with wide eyes, was this really what he was like as a kid?

He paused. "Steven, that's not really... I mean, I miss the Gems, of course I do! But I just have so much I have to get done, you know? And being here, its really putting me behind schedule."

"Is that really what's worrying you most?" he frowned, feeling deflated. "Work? You haven't even told me what kind of work it is! Even the Gems aren't this busy and they're out saving the world from monsters!"

"They're not monsters!" Twoie slapped one hand down on the counter, scowling at Steven like he'd said something wrong.

"Then what are they?" Steven questioned defensively, hunching his shoulders up.

"They're gems!" he snapped. "They're gems, and you guys can't heal them, and there's nothing I can do to help!"

Steven's eyes widened. "Gems? Like, like Garnet, and Amethyst and Pearl!?"

The teenager looked at his younger self, suddenly aware that he may have revealed something important a bit too early. Had he messed up this timeline already? He took a deep breath to centre himself.

"Yeah," he confirmed after a few moments of silence. "They're gems. Something bad happened thousands of years ago, and it corrupted those gems into the forms they have now. They don't mean to hurt anyone, they just don't know any better. Its not their fault."

Steven wasn't surprised to feel his eyes welling up with tears. That was so sad!

Twoie saw the distress on his younger self's face and tried to think back on what would have made him feel better when he was that age. He knew not to talk down to him, to treat him with a bit more agency than the Gems would usually display. He had always hated being treated like a little kid, even when he was one.

"Wanna go watch the sunrise?"

Steven's eyes lit up at the suggestion. He was still really tired after waking up so early, and he knew that Twoie had to be twice as exhausted, but there was nothing more peaceful than sitting on the beach and watching as the sky goes from dark blues to oranges and pinks, reflecting and refracting on the water's surface. It made him feel like the whole world was taking time to breathe, before finally revealing the clear blue sky that would brighten up Beach City for the rest of the day. It would do them both some good. So he wiped the tears from his eyes and held out his hand for Twoie to take.

The pair walked across the decking and down the stairs, both barefoot, Steven wearing his pajamas and Twoie in yesterday's clothes, ukulele in hand. They settled themselves scant metres away from the lapping waves, feeling stress and anxiety and all the _dark-bad-heavy_ emotions slough off of them, leaving their bodies to unwind and their hearts feeling lighter.

Steven reached for Twoie's ukulele while the teen in question reclined in the sand, ankles crossed and arms behind his head. He strummed a meloncholy tune with an uncharacteristic absentmindedness.

He had so much he needed to say, so much he needed to get off of his chest or he was going to explode! It all felt like too much. He knew he could handle it, because Twoie did it and Twoie _was_ him, but he was scared. Even with his older self around he couldn't always stifle the soul crushing lonliness that shadowed him even when he was around his family. He couldn't talk to the Gems about his complicated feelings about Rose, he couldn't talk to his dad about the paralyzing terror of his responsibilities, he couldn't talk to Twoie about how much pressure he felt to be as competent and powerful as him.

He couldn't talk to anyone about how afraid he was to grow up and be like Twoie.

But... Twoie was always telling him about how bottling up his emotions was the easiest way to hurt himself and others in the long run. Maybe, with himself, a problem shared was a problem halved?

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and turned to the teenager.

"Twoie-" he stopped.

Twoie was asleep. Face slack, mouth open, his usual tension and guardedness gone.

Steven put the ukulele down. He unconsciously wrapped his arms around himself and turned back to watch the sunrise. The morning suddenly felt just a little bit colder.

They could talk some other time.


End file.
